Bangladesh: Three sentenced to death for 1971 war crimes

July 18, Dhaka: A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced three militia members to death for carrying out killings and other serious crimes during the country's independence war against Pakistan 35 years ago.

Five other defendants were sentenced to life in prison.

Justice Anwarul Haque, head of a three-member panel of judges, announced the verdict in a packed courtroom with only two of the defendants in the docks. The others were tried in absentia, reports said.

The accused men were members of the Al Badr militia group that collaborated with the Pakistani army to commit genocide in Bangladesh's Jamalpur district in 1971.

Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed 3 million people, raped 200,000 women and forced 10 million people to flee to refugee camps across the border in India.

Prosecution lawyer Tureen Afroz said they were satisfied with the verdict. Defense lawyer Gazi Tamim said they would appeal the verdict, the Associated Press reported.